Chapter 6 Sexual Arousal and Response

1. Chapter 6Sexual Arousal and Response

2. Sex and Gender: some definitions • Sex: biological female or maleness • genetic sex: determined by sex chromosomes • anatomical sex: determined by physical differences • Gender: psychosocial meaning of maleness and femaleness; masculinity or femininity • Gender Identity: each person’s subjective sense of being male or female • Gender Roles: the cultural norms for male and female behavior

3. Anonymous question box follow-up!

4. Question How does an intersexed baby come about?

5. Answer Hopefully you all learned the answer to this in chapter 5! Intersexed disorders can come about as a result of: • Chromosomal abnormalities • Klinefelter’s syndrome (XXY) • Abnormal prenatal hormone action • Fetally androgenized females • DHT-deficient males

6. Question I noticed many risk factors include smoking so my question is does it include smoking marijuana rather than cigarettes or both?

7. Answer In general, the risks of smoking cigarettes and marijuana are different. However, the health effects of marijuana have been less widely studied. Also, marijuana is frequently combined with tobacco.

8. Question If you know someone who is a heavy smoker of cigarettes, weed, and blunts cigars and they mix all that together but uses the tobacco from the cigarettes and mix it with cigars and weed, can they get cancer? And can you get secondhand smoke from it?

9. Answer Mixing tobacco with marijuana retains all the health risks of the tobacco (cancer, lung disease, many others) and creates secondhand smoke that can also cause these effects. Marijuana itself is not known to cause cancer, and although secondhand smoke can be intoxicating to people around you, it is not known to carry health risks.

10. Question Who has more STDs, males or females?

11. Answer This depends; men have higher rates of certain STDs and women have higher rates of others. It can also vary by country…in some countries where prostitution is very common, men have higher STD rates. All known STDs can infect both sexes, so you should be careful and protect yourself no matter the sex of your partner!

12. Question Why is there so much pain when men hit their penises?

13. Answer The sensitivity of the penis (and scrotum) is a direct result of the number of nerve endings in the penis. The penis is highly sensitive to all forms of physical stimulation, including painful stimuli! A woman’s clitoris is equally or more sensitive, but somewhat less likely to be injured due it its location on the body.

14. Question How common is sexual incompatibility (big man, small woman penis/vagina)? And are there any solutions to it?

15. Answer Unfortunately, there are no good statistics on this, but it’s not uncommon, especially among younger women who tend to have tighter vaginas. The solution to this problem is lubrication. Either artificial lubricants or increased foreplay to increase a woman’s natural lubrication will help. Also, if a woman is tense it can cause the muscles in her vagina to contract, worsening the problem.

16. Question What is the best way to stimulate a woman’s clitoris during sex?

17. Answer It depends on the woman! Different women like different things. In general, the clitoris is very sensitive, so most women prefer gentle touching in that area. You can ask your partner what she likes, or try different types of stimulation and pay attention to how she responds.

18. Chapter 6Sexual Arousal and Response

19. cultural aspects of sexual arousal

20. Western society • Emphasis is on achieving orgasm, usually for all partners • Genitally focused activities are considered optimally arousing • Racial differences exist: • 38% of African American women reported that they always have an orgasm during sex with their primary partner • 34% of Hispanic women and 26% of White women reported the same

21. Other societies • In some Asian societies, sex is intermingled with spiritual traditions, and extension of sexual arousal is seen as desirable (Tantric traditions in India) • In some African cultures, female orgasm is rare or unknown • Kissing on the mouth is rare in some cultures (e.g. Inuit people, Hindus in India) • A 1951 study showed that among 190 societies, only 21 acknowledged mouth kissing, and only 13 considered it part of sexual behavior • Oral sex is common among Western & industrialized Asian countries and in the South Pacific, but is considered unnatural in most Southern African countries

22. Attractiveness is not universal • But there are some trends: • For women: a symmetrical face, a low waist to hip ratio, full breasts and full lips tend to be considered attractive • For men: a symmetrical face, broad shoulders and narrow waist

23. The Brain and Sexual Arousal • Cerebral cortex: thinking, higher brain function • Limbic system: emotion center; includes the: • Hypothalamus: master controller of many hormones • Hippocampus: important for learning & memory

24. Neurotransmitters • Brain cells communicate through chemical signals called neurotransmitters • Dopamine facilitates sexual arousal • Serotonin inhibits sexual arousal • Seems to play a role in the “refractory period” after male ejaculation • SSRI drugs (Prozac, Zoloft, and others) for depression can dampen sex drive & arousal

25. the senses and sexual arousal

26. The Senses and Sexual Arousal • All sensory systems can contribute to arousal • Touch is the dominant “sexual sense” • Primary erogenous zones: have high sensitivity due to neural density • genitals, buttocks, anus, perineum, breasts, inner thighs, armpits, navel, neck, ears, and mouth • Secondary erogenous zones: have erotic significance due to social conditioning; can be anywhere else on the body

27. The Senses and Sexual Arousal • Vision usually next in dominance • Men self-report higher arousal than women from visual stimuli • Women and men have similar physiological responses to porn, suggesting that maybe cultural factors are at play

28. Other Senses and Sexual Arousal • Smell may arouse or offend; stong connection to the limbic system • Pheromones • Body odors & fluids • Taste plays a minor role • Hearing plays a variable role

29. Aphrodisiacs • Substances believed to arouse sexual desire or increase capacity for sexual activity • Food • Drugs and alcohol • Alcohol causes disinhibition, but impairs sexual performance & sensitivity • Also make risky (unprotected) sexual behavior more likely • Many aphrodisiacs not shown effective in humans • Role of expectations

30. True aphrodisiacs? • Androgens: testosterone and other androgens boost sex drive in both men & women, but have side effects • Yohimbine: available by prescription to treat male impotence, but efficacy is questioned • Bremelanotide: currently in clinical testing to enhance sexual desire in both men & women • Originally developed as nasal spray, but found to cause high blood pressure; now being tested as implantable device

31. Anaphrodisiacs • Inhibit sexual behavior • Drugs (e.g. opiates, tranquilizers) • 75% of male marijuana smokers report that it enhances their sex lives, but erectile dysfunction is twice as common in marijuana smokers; cannabinoid receptors have been found in the penis • Antihypertensives, antidepressants & antipsychotics have all been found to dampen sexual desire and sexual function • Birth control pills reduce levels of testosterone in the blood; • Nicotine • Constricts blood flow • Possibly reduces circulating testosterone